For A Good Cause
by restive nature
Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!
1. C01- Sidelined

Title: For A Good Cause

Chapter Title: Sidelined

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. Nor do I own any rights to other shows represented through the rest of this fictions. All shows belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: Various, up to R

Chapter Rating: PG

Genre: Crossover

Type: BtVS/ Various

Pairing: Various

Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!

Spoilers/ Time line: This is post series for both Buffy and Angel. Other shows and will be discussed within each chapter that it pertains to.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This is a response to the Twisting the Hellmouth "The Bachelor/ Bachelorette Challenge.

For A Good Cause

Chapter One

Sidelined

The incessant ringing of his cellular phone, the one that his best friend had rigged to get global coverage, alerted Xander's attention like no other thing possibly could right now. After a sixteen hour trip, on various forms of animals, he was coming back from his recruiting trip to the wilds of the Australian outback.

Alexander Harris, or as he was better known, Xander, was a survivor of what had been called the Sunnydale disaster. Not a catchy title, he knew, but no one in the mainstream media really knew what to call it. So when people referred to it as such, they ran with it. But Xander, having lived in Sunnydale all of his life and prior to the destruction of the town, finding out all about the dirty dealings that had more super than natural origins, knew that the mainstream world, media, populace and otherwise, were not ready to discover the truth of the world around them.

But despite that, the manner in which his friends and to a very tiny degree he, had helped to change that portion of the world, had far reaching effects and it was to such that Xander had been pressed into effort. After a time of mourning his ex-fiancée Anya's death, Xander had rejoined the fight against supernatural evil with a vengeance. Their first order of business after the destruction of Sunnydale, or more precisely the Hellmouth on which the town had resided (the town being the collateral damage), was to reach out and find all of the new slayers that Willow had activated through unleashing her magic in conjunction of the Slayer weapon, the Scythe.

Willow had been able to feel all the girls that she had awoken through the spell and knowing that with the old Watcher's council, along with their records of all the Slayers, Potential Slayers and potential potentials, they had set out to recruit them. During that time, the group had been spread thing over the world, while Buffy, Dawn and Giles had set up headquarters eventually in Rome. The rest had been dispatched, the core Scooby gang and the potentials that had come to Sunnydale for the final showdown with the First Evil, (those that survived at any rate), working to put out brush fires and contacting the girls and their families about this new phenomenon in their lives.

Willow had been the first to go to Australia. She had been accompanied by her girlfriend Kennedy. There they'd manage to retrieve nearly all the girls that she had felt. Some had not wanted this and Willow respected that decision, as they all did. But when she had approached a local Aboriginal tribe, she had been told that they had their own legends and manner of dealing with the Slayers that had woken that carried their ancestral aboriginal blood. Willow, in conference with the others discussed the happenings with the leaders of the tribes and it was decided that those that wished it, would slowly be integrated into the modern art of slaying, after receiving the traditional training from their elders.

It had been slow going, as the Elder's did not want all of their girls, their new protector's, up and going all at once. As the girls started to come of age and passed the tests that were designed to test many things, they slowly began filtering them to the new council in Rome. There were many promises that they would return to their native homeland when their training was complete. And it was now that the last of the girls were on their way to Rome. Xander had accompanied Sheila, the first Aboriginal slayer that the Elder's had deemed ready, back to her home, to act as watcher until the appropriate ceremony to turn her guardianship back over to her elders was complete.

And during that time, Xander had taken the chance to do what he hadn't been able to do, ever since he first conceived the notion when he was a senior in high school. He traveled. He had been delighted that Sheila had wanted to show him the delights of her home and he was made welcome by her tribe and others. And now, he had a tan like he'd never known before, a little more knowledge, some new friends, and a very mysterious artifact to bring home to Rome.

Glancing up at the clock in the Sydney airport, Xander realized that he still had plenty of time before he needed to board. He stepped out of line and flipped open the cell phone. He had just briefly glanced at the call screen, noting that it was Dawn calling him.

"Hey Dawnster, what's up?" he asked jovially, though his heart was sinking slightly. He had just talked to her the day before and she had all the details of his flight home.

"Xander?" Dawn's voice was a little higher than normal and Xander realized that his suspicions were probably spot on. Something was happening and they needed to batten down the hatches and-! He cut himself short before any more nautical references passed his lips. "Where are you?"

"I'm just about to board the flight home." Xander replied genially, though inside his guts were twisting. "What's going on?"

"You're not going to make it in time then," Dawn announced and then swore softly.

"In time for what Dawn?" Xander's weird-o-meter shot up and his panic started to swell up his throat, tasting an awful lot like bile. "What's happening? Is everyone okay?"

"So far they are," Dawn informed him immediately. "We just got word. The big one in LA is happening, like, now!"

Xander groaned. This was a debate he'd heard about a few times. The Fang gang in Los Angeles had apparently broken faith with the Scoobies over the last year. Angel, Dead-boy had taken over running the evil of evilest of law firms and everyone from Buffy on down were mistrustful of his true intentions. That Angel refused to explain what he was doing just made things worse. And then there was the fact that somehow, Spike, the Vampire Champion that they'd all thought had burned up in the bowels of the Hellmouth, had been resurrected and instead of letting them know that he was alive, had aligned himself with his Sire's sire.

It had not been a good day in Xanderland when Buffy had found that out.

"What's the plan?" he demanded. They'd been ready for something like this. There were various ideas about how to handle it all. Several slayers had been all for keeping their noses out of it all, since Angel and his crew were not their concern. But Xander had pointed out the potential of damage done to innocent people if things, or cetain people were to get out of line. That made it their business.

"Willow's teleporting in as many groups as she can, but they have to be close. So basically North American, maybe some south," Dawn explained quickly. "From initial reports, it looks like Angel may have been playing these lawyers the whole time. But it's hard to say. The seers are having a hard time because things are moving so fast. As soon as they're certain about one thing, something else happens that makes us question what just happened."

"Gotcha," Xander nodded. He wasn't all that surprised. He'd never been big on Dead boy's, well, his anything. His unlife, his agenda, and most importantly his big old yen for Buffy, who was supposed to be his mortal enemy, not a star crossed lover that he eventually tried to kill and when he couldn't do that, would come back into her life and mess with her head.

"So what are we doing then?" he asked of Dawn, knowing that there had to be more to the plan.

"We're back-up staff on this one," Dawn sighed. Ever since Buffy had started training her in the art of staying alive in the face of insurmountable odds, otherwise known as about the time Dawn started high school, she'd been itching to take a more active role in things. Even with Buffy accepting her training, it was still slow going, though not because of her sister this time. No, now Dawn had to contend with her own limitations in learning the various things she wanted to study and her determination to enjoy being a moderately independent young woman.

"And that was important for me to hear why?" Xander asked with a forced joviality and he heard Dawn's long suffering sigh on the other end of the phone.

"Just thought you'd want to know what you were walking into, before you know, actually walking into it," Dawn pointed out.

"An empty house?" Xander quipped as he kept his good eye on the boards so that he'd know the earliest possible moment they could begin boarding.

"Hey!" Dawn protested. "I'm here!" And then she mumbled something else that made Xander cringe, hoping that he hadn't interpreted that correctly.

"What was that?" he demanded, his fingers tightening convulsively around the artifact he was carrying on board with him in lieu of one of his alloted bags of luggage. He had to remind himself that there was to be no breakage of the important urn-y thingy. Breakage of urns always led to bad things chasing him.

"I said 'and Andrew'," Dawn sighed, knowing that he would find out sooner or later. Xander sighed. It was what he thought.

"And what has the little monkey been up to?" Xander wondered, musing. Andrew, after the fall of the Hellmouth wasn't actually all that bad. Yeah, he still was a goofball and a moron most of the time about normal everyday living, but he was getting better at dealing with the supernatural and being on the right side this time.

"He's cooking," Dawn replied. "He figures that everybody will be too tired to cook when they get back. So he's making stuff that can be stored and heated. Depending on... how long it takes," she manage to get out.

"Wow," Xander mocked gently, "so the boy blunder actually made a plan that was executable and smart. Wait! Has he blown up any of the appliances yet?"

That got the giggle he'd been looking for. He knew, just as Dawn did, how difficult it was to be sidelined by the super powered. They'd already had this discussion. But a little reminder and a little friendly boost never hurt.

"Not yet," Dawn rejoined, "but he's been eying the microwave quite a bit."

"Ah, Andrew's latest arch nemesis," Xander chuckled, having learned from the others over time how quickly Andrew wore them out, with his... 'experiments'.

"We're hoping it will last more than a month this time," Dawn chuckled. "Buffy said that if he broke this one, he could clean toilets down at the local prison to earn the money to buy a replacement."

Xander opened his mouth to make a query, but then thought better of it. "I'm not gonna touch that one with a fifty foot pole," he announced and then the changing, flickering numbers on the board caught his attention. "Okay, my flight's up Dawnie," he informed her. "I'll call as soon as I land."

"Okay Xander," Dawn sounded reserved. "We're still picking you up right?"

"As long as it's you in the front seat," Xander grinned. "'Cause at least I know I can count on you not to crash when a driver has been, I don't know, tazered out of action?"

Dawn chuckled again, still enjoying teasing one another about that incident. "Well at least I don't use color forms," she deliberately used her mispronunciation of the drug when she'd been under said influences.

"And hopefully never will again," Xander agreed. They said their last current goodbyes and Xander stowed his phone in his pocket and gathering up his other alloted bag, headed off to join the line that led to home. Or at least, the thing closest to that approximation.


	2. C02- About That Time Again

Title: For A Good Cause

Chapter Title: About That Time Again

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. Nor do I own any rights to other shows represented through the rest of this fictions. All shows belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: Various, up to R

Chapter Rating: PG

Genre: Crossover

Type: BtVS/ Various

Pairing: Various

Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!

Spoilers/ Time line: This is post series for both Buffy and Angel. Other shows and will be discussed within each chapter that it pertains to.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This is a response to the Twisting the Hellmouth "The Bachelor/ Bachelorette Challenge.

For A Good Cause

Chapter Two

About That Time Again

There had been losses. Huge losses, Xander knew. Of course there were going to be when a battle as large as the one in Los Angeles occurred. An apocalypse that Angel had jump started it turned out, on a vision passed on from Cordelia before she went into the light, or whatever it was that back from the dead seers did when their time was up.

They had actually kind of won this one, though both Angel and Spike admitted it wouldn't have happened if Willow and the Slayers hadn't shown up. Willow, shuddering through the telling, had told Xander in a private moment, that LA had very much been in danger of being dragged down to hell. And not Sunnydale go boom with the Hellmouth kind of way. It would have been a city of millions thrust into the darkest kind of horrifying nightmare with no idea how to survive.

As, much to the relief of Xander, Dawn and Andrew, their people started to filter back, through various methods of transportation, because as Kennedy had rightly declared, the porting in of such large groups and then the fight had drained Willow too badly to use that method any time again soon. The others had been in vehement agreement. And so some flew, some drove, some bussed it, but they were all back, gathered together on the Cleveland Hellmouth, in the large house that Giles had managed to snag through an auction when the house was repossessed by the bank for mortgage payments that hadn't been made. It certainly wasn't large enough for all their needs, but it served as a base of operations for whatever slayer was monitoring the Hellmouth.

Andrew had been happily employed in the week that it took to get everyone back, cooking, feeding, tending to wounds that had, for the most part, already healed. Xander and Dawn had the more important task of tending to the wounds that weren't visible to the naked eye, helping those slayers that experienced their first apocalypse, to deal with the losses of civilians, sister slayers and other good people.

Of course the trio left behind in Cleveland had been inordinately relieved that they hadn't lost any of their people, but there had been a palpable grief when they learned that Wesley had been lost prior to the battle. The God-King that had once been Winifred Burkle, was still swearing lusty bloodthirsty vengeance on the demons that had gotten away from her at Willow and the Slayers interference. Xander couldn't help but count themselves lucky that she hadn't blamed her lack of carnage on them instead.

And now, with everyone gathered in the 'war' room, the Vampires, Slayers and other key players were trying to work out how to handle things now. But Xander could see that it was too much for them. They had just come through the apocalypse and needed to de-stress, not immerse themselves in the logistics of dealing with the fallout. To that end, he'd directed Andrew to return to the kitchen and come up with some finger foods, since the young man had been disappointed that no one was ready for the gourmet meals he had whipped up. Experience had taught Xander that people were more likely to eat if it just happened to be there and just a little at a time. That's why snackage always disappeared so fast, whereas meals were only picked at.

It also got him out of the vicinity when Xander pulled out his other distraction technique. The urn that he had brought back with him from Australia. He and Dawn had had a good look at it in the light of day while they were waiting for word of... well, anything. Both had agreed that there was something off about it and there was a demonic language of some kind that Dawn couldn't make out. Nor was she able to match it to her books that she had available. She thought that there might be something in one of the libraries that Giles had stashed in certain areas of his life. Like his home in Bath, or Rome or wherever his other allies might be that he didn't discuss with the "children". They had discussed the idea of Andrew looking it over, but when Dawn had approached him with the sympbols she had painstakingly copied out, the young man hadn't recognized it. He had promised to look in a few areas of references tools that he had, but so far nothing had come up that matched.

There were a near consensus of dispirited heads drooping as people slumped into their chairs around the round table that they had taken to meeting at. Xander suppressed a smile when he realized that things had kind of evolved to us and them mentality again. Angel, Spike, the man known mostly as just Gunn and their pet God-King Illyria sat huddled together, while the Sunnydale alum were seated together. For the most part.

He pushed the door shut behind him, carefully cradling the urn like on would a baby, before settling it in the center of the table. "And I say, voila," he offered, gesturing to the artifact before him.

"Huh?" Buffy grunted, raising her head just slightly from where it was resting on her arm.

"That's the thing I was telling you about last night," Dawn supplied helpfully, sitting next to her sister and studiously avoiding looking at Spike. She still wasn't over Spike not contacting her, even if he couldn't bring himself to talk to Buffy. "You know," she prompted. "The urn that was giving Xander the freaky vibes."

"Urgh, urn, right," Buffy sighed and blinked her eyes tiredly. She turned to regard one of her oldest friends dejectedly. "Do we have to do this now?"

"Nah, not really Buff," Xander smiled as he took a seat available next to Willow, but leaning forward so that he could see the blond. "Just thought I'd bring it around in case anyone was interested. Better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"Was there any reason that you thought this was important?" Giles asked as he retrieved his glasses from the table where he had dropped them and easily replacing them on his face.

"Not sure," Xander shrugged. "The Aboriginal tribe elders were wary of it. And there's some writing."

"We thought that if there was a timetable on it," Dawn offered helpfully, "it might help to know it before it went kablooey."

There were grimaces all around at her word and when she looked puzzled, Illyria made a sort of grimacing smile. "I believe they are reminded of the weak natures of their digestive organ that made itself known when the dragon which we battled was destroyed in an explosive manner, raining it's viscera upon our heads in a bloody shower, the likes of which I have not seen since-!"

Her steadily growing enrapture with the demise of the dragon that Dawn and Xander had already heard about was cut off from many quarters with gags and protests before the God-king went silent, with a cool, arched eyebrow.

After a long moment as the main occupants of the room regarded one another, Giles cleared his throat once more. He reached for the urn and pulled it closer to himself. Peering intently at the piece of pottery, he then inhaled and blew softly over the surface. There were small puffs of dust rising up from where it had collected in the lines of carving that had been etched into the surface. He glanced up once at Xander, still sort of hovering behind in his chair, uncertain about having sat down.

"How did you manage to get this through customs?" he wondered aloud and Xander shrugged, finally settling in fully.

"Special dispensation from the aboriginal tribe leaders," he explained quickly. "From what I was told, normally people aren't allowed to remove treasures, national or otherwise from Australian soil."

"Which is true of most countries," Giles nodded, the British curator in him rising to the surface.

"But since the aborigines are a first culture," Xander went on, moving his legs restlessly, thus causing the rolling chair that he'd chosen, to mimc that agitation, "they have a system of governing themselves." He allowed himself a grin. "They don't really have a policy of allowing other people to take their treasures. But from what the chief told me, they don't _want_ this urn around. So they told the customs officials that they had chosen an organization to study the artifact and after we've made our report on the findings of what it all means, then we'll be returning the artifact to it's native soil." He allowed his lips to soften into an amused grin. "Of course, what King George didn't say, was that he could care less if our study over this thing lasts a hundred years or more."

"They bought all that?" Dawn chuckled, not having heard the story yet, since it hadn't even occurred to her that there could be trouble transporting the thing. Xander nodded.

"Governments, particularly politicians like to step carefully around Native peoples," Angel noted tiredly and when he put it in that perspective, Dawn nodded in understanding.

"So do we know what we want to do with it first?" Willow asked as she, even with her body slanted sideways to rest at the table, reached one arm out to point at the urn. She glanced back at Dawn and Xander. "Have you guys done anything?" she asked quickly, looking just slightly worried. Both of the pair in question shook their heads.

"Just looked at it," Xander sighed, partly in relief. As he had hoped, interest in this minor matter was picking up.

"I was thinking about cleaning it," Dawn piped up and glances around the table flew to her. "With that kit that you got me," she explained, directing herself to Giles, who had allowed her use of his old museum kit. "But I wasn't sure where to start and Xander said it'd probably be better to practice on something that was um, not valued."

"Quite right," Giles smirked and winked at Xander. First time in a while, but Xander felt almost accepted as a thoughtful adult in his own right under the man's eyes. "Well, if you're interested in that venue," he had turned back to Dawn, "I can certainly provide you with instruction and practice pieces."

"Cool," Dawn breathed out. "But um, still, should I get the kit? There might be more writing under some of the dirt on that one side."

"Dirt?" Giles asked as he began to carefully turn the urn in his hands to see where Dawn was indicating. The others leaned in a little to see as well, as Dawn very carefully set her finger against one area, not as smooth as the others and carefully ran her finger along it. A small spate of fine red clay crumbled away and Dawn quickly retracted her hand, glancing guiltily up at their friend and mentor. "Oh yes, I see," Giles nodded as he peered closely. "It does appear that there is some discoloration there that does not match the viable material the urn seems to be made with. Very good Dawn."

The compliment allowed the teen to breath a sigh of relief that she hadn't broken away something that might be part of the urn, or important in and of itself. Xander, feeling an antsy sort of clenching in his gut, pushed away from the table. He held up his hand to volunteer himself. "I'll go get the kit. I wanted to check on Andrew anyway."

"Yeah, it's about grub time, ain't it?" Faith piped up. She'd been curled up in her chair, knees drawn up, situated in a seat that was between the two camps of groups. Xander knew from the little he'd overheard elsewhere that Faith was actually taking Wes' death pretty hard. Considering that the man had been her Watcher, along with Buffy's for a time, and that she had kidnapped and tortured the guy, who had then later broken her out of prison, then died before she could redeem herself totally in his eyes... Yeah, Xander could only imagine the wrath that Faith had dealt on the other guy. And knowing how Slayers operated well enough by now, figured she had turned that rage inwards. So hearing anything from her, even as quiet as it was, he counted as a good sign.

"Yeah," he nodded his agreement. "I'll send him up with whatever he's got. Dawn, where's the kit at?"

"In the downstairs study," Dawn was thoughtful for a moment. "I think I left it in the desk. But uh... if it's not there, look on the book shelves."

"Study, desk or shelves," Xander repeated as he headed out with what he hoped was a reassuring grin. He made his first stop the kitchen, as promised to the others, to check in on Andrew, who was happily arranging several trays.

"Ah, Xander," he smiled, glancing up as he realized that he finally had some company in his domain. "Here for the party trays?"

"Actually," Xander gestured over his shoulder with this thumb. "Just checking to see if you were ready to go. I've got to grab a kit from the library. Why don't you take a small tray up and see if you can get some help."

"Roger Wilco," Andrew snapped off a salute that was mitigated from it's seriousness by the fact that he was wearing a floppy white chef's hat, neon orange apron with an alien being from some show Xander wasn't familiar with, airbrushed on it and a hideously clashing purple oven mitt.

"Uh huh," he sighed as he watched the potential disaster in the making as typically, Andrew tried to grab the largest of the trays. With a defeated sigh, Xander stepped forward and gently pulled the tray from his hands, where it was already slipping, and settled it back on the counter. "Seriously Andrew, don't want all your hard work to go to waste if there was an accident. They girls won't mind helping. They're finally getting hungry."

"Right," Andrew nodded. "That would be a tragedy." Taking Xander's advice he turned instead to a small fruit platter he had made up and counting silently, but with lips moving, added a few more clusters of green and red grapes before stepping out from behind the island counter.

Xander, sure that Andrew was on the correct path now, turned and followed the younger man out of the kitchen. But as Andrew moved off to the staircase, he turned the other way to get to the library. Unfortunately, the kit he was to retrieve was in neither of the specific places Dawn had mentioned and Xander was forced to search the desk. For the life of him, he could not remember just how big the kit was, which would have helped, because then Xander could cut some of the locations by knowing that the kit wouldn't fit.

It took perhaps ten minutes before he located it, half wedged under the sofa and only found it because he stubbed his toe on it. Grimacing at the minor pain, Xander scooped the kit up, flipping the latch up with his thumb to make sure he hadn't disrupted the contents. They seemed fine to him. Little miniatures of tools that he had been working with for the last several years.

Also unfortunately, the moment he exited the library, the yelling began. With a groan, Xander knew exactly where it was coming from and what he feared happening had probably happened. Determined to help, he jogged up the stairs, taking several at a time. There was yelling, Andrew's name and the lanky reformed demon summoner denying that he had done it, or at least he had not meant to. There was a howling sound, like going through a wind tunnel and flashing lights could be seen from under the door. Determined to find out what in hell was going on, Xander threw himself to the door, but it was locked, or jammed or something, because for all his pounding and yelling of his friend's names, he couldn't get in. This all, along with an eerie laughter that Xander was quite sure didn't belong to any of his friends unless Angel was maybe channeling some hell beast, took another few minutes before everything finally quieted and the door seemed to open of it's own accord.

Xander pushed the door further in and cautiously peered around the gaping opening. Everything was almost as he had left it, except Andrew was now cowering in the corner while all eyes were turned to him angrily. The fruit plate he had brought with him was in disarray and as Xander caught sight of the rest, he groaned.

"If there was one thing," he muttered as he pushed the door wide, "one thing! Don't break the urn. Don't touch the urn. Don't let Andrew near the urn. Who let Andrew near the urn?!" he yelled, when no one seemed to notice his arrival. It was then that all fingers in the room pointed in unison.

Directly at him.

Xander's eyes widened at the room wide accusation and the resigned sighs from the majority of people present. Well he knew what that meant.

It was apocalypse time again.


	3. The Blame Game

Title: For A Good Cause

Chapter Title: The Blame Game

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. Nor do I own any rights to other shows represented through the rest of this fictions. All shows belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: Various, up to R

Chapter Rating: PG

Genre: Crossover

Type: BtVS/ Various

Pairing: Various

Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!

Spoilers/ Time line: This is post series for both Buffy and Angel. Other shows and will be discussed within each chapter that it pertains to.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This is a response to the Twisting the Hellmouth "The Bachelor/ Bachelorette Challenge.

For A Good Cause

Chapter Three

The Blame Game

"Okay," Xander sighed heavily as he slumped once more in his chair, his arms resting, stretched out before him on the table. "Let me get this straight. After all the precautions we took, after warning everyone, myself included, Andrew broke the urn?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," the young man in question whined. Accusing glares turned his way and he gulped hastily and pulled back. There was the unspoken command, though it had been voiced before, for him to just shut up.

"And ignoring that, because great googly moogly, it just had to happen, right?" Xander pressed on, heaving a shaky sigh. "A... a genie? A genie came out of the urn?"

Giles, who was standing at the head of the table now, was busy polishing his glasses with a large handkerchief. His typical response to the behavior or the absurd, whichever he was deeming beyond rational at the moment. And for this group, it was a lot. "Yes Xander, there was a genie in the bottle that Andrew let loose when he tripped and dropped that monstrosity of a platter on the table."

"But... he dropped it?" Xander whined for Andrew as the younger man crossed his arms, looking slightly smug. "No offense Andy, but it's not like it was that heavy. How could one platter cause that much damage?" There were groans from the older gang as he asked that and he glanced around before rolling his eyes.

"It was enough to shake the table and um..." Dawn began explaining quietly. "Willow and I were looking-!"

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't just Andrew's fault," Willow sighed quickly. "I had tilted it to get a better look at the writing underneath."

"And I was trying to point out a spot of interest," Dawn added. "But when Andrew dropped the platter, it shook the table a little and... bumped my leg."

"Only cause you were pressed right up to it," Buffy snorted, her head still pressed into her hand as she sadly contemplated their new fate.

"And I didn't have the best grip on it, so when Dawn, um... poked it, I couldn't... it was slick from the dust..." Willow bemoaned.

Dawn gripped her friends shoulder briefly and then squeezed once. "I shoulda cleaned it," she decided morosely.

"Okay," Xander drawled a moment later. "So what's with the bad? Can't decide who gets the wishes? Three of you responsible, you each get one. Seems fair to me."

"It's not that Xander," Angel interrupted, leaning forward to glower at the male that had been so long a thorn in his side, though minorly, as it was.

Xander turned a baleful eye to the elder Vampire at the table. "Let me guess. Genie wishes are like vengeance wishes? You don't want 'em and if you happen to make one, they aren't gonna turn out all that great?"

"Precisely," Giles sighed before pulling out a seat for himself and collapsing into it. "But I'm afraid this case is much worse."

"And why is that? Xander groaned. He should have known better than to even start any line of questioning. "What, did the genie decide to give everyone here a wish?"

"It wasn't a genie brainiac," Spike piped up, straightening up from where he'd been lounging in his seat, one leg thrown over the arm rest. "It was a Djinn. The head Djinn if you wanna believe the wanker."

"I don't think he was lying Spike," Willow warned. Xander turned to the redheaded witch and his good eye widened slightly. She was sitting on her hands, rocking slightly and then her panicked gaze turned to Giles. "I don't like this. It feels all wrong. I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Oh, oh!" Kennedy reared up from her seat beside her girlfriend, quickly leaning over to help her. "Come on, let's get you to the bathroom." But Willow shook her head, quickly, abruptly and then with a wince she stopped.

"I can't move," she moaned. "If I move, I'll explode."

Giles leaned forward, his hand reaching across Buffy to rest on Willow's shoulder. "Deep breaths Willow. In through the nose and then out through the mouth. We'll figure this out. You can handle it."

"I don't know Giles," she whispered, her eyes tearing up a little. But she did as he instructed. Her color didn't improve much but the rocking lessened.

"What is it?" Buffy asked quietly after a moment. "Is it the magic?" Willow nodded without thought and then groaned again.

"She's more connected to the magic, to the- the realm that these creatures come from," Giles tried to explain. "Especially after she learned how to astrally project herself. The geas on her, on us, it's taking a more physical toll on her because she learned how to connect with her entire being, so that she could learn to disconnect, as it were."

About only half of that made sense to Xander. All he understood was that his friend was hurting from whatever had happened while he was out of the room.

"I'm gonna go get a basin or wastebasket," Kennedy announced. "Just in case," she added, smiling down at her girlfriend. She whirled around to go about her minor mission, but, since the urn had pretty much exploded for some reason that Xander hadn't yet discerned, it was scattered about the floor and Kennedy, not even thinking strode off, only to step on a rounded broken piece of the lid.

It was almost comical how her foot slipped out from under her and she came crashing down, but Xander, his reflexes actually having approved over the years, caught her awkwardly. "It's okay," he chuckled without humor. "I got you."

But Kennedy stiffened in his grip and let out a slight yelp. She quickly righted herself and turned to stare at Xander, wide eyed and when his usually minorly concerned glance met her gaze, her mouth gaped. She glanced around and then shuddered.

"Did anybody else feel that?" she demanded.

"Feel what?" Faith demanded from the other side of the table, sitting up and showing some interest in the proceedings again. She, along with the unknown form of Illyria had been sitting quietly, one bored out of her mind, the other nearly as much.

"It was..." Kennedy frowned, groping to explain. "I felt... it was like something ran over me and then," she put her hands up to her neck, her fingers dancing nimbly along the skin. "Felt like someone put a choker or something on me."

"It is the geas, at work," Illyria announced in a tone that brooked no argument, but also held the censure of the enlightened against the not so much. "The mortal, by declaring that he has you, has entered into the bargain in which he serves as your master, as the _djinn_," she announced the name like it was a curse word, "vowed. Until your task is complete, you are under his pervue."

"Is it really so simple?" Giles wondered, slumping back in his chair once more. He turned to Kennedy. "Is this er, um, choker? Is it causing you impairment in any way?"

"Not really," Kennedy grimaced slightly. "Just sort of feel all goth and no rave to go to." She saw Giles' perplexed look and sighed. "Like I'm wearing a necklace that's too tight. But there's nothing there." Giles nodded and she added. "It's not... too bad. Just kinda... feel like a slave or something."

"Which was exactly what the Djinn wanted," Angel nodded, spreading his hands wide. "He was angered by one of the elder gods placing the spell of servitude on his race."

"That's what he said," Dawn nodded. "That this was his vengeance against the mortals that have used his people."

"Okay," Xander wondered, "so why break the urn? This seems like a one-shot deal. What?" he counted quickly and then continued, "less than a dozen people and that's it? For an entire race of people?"

"Break the bottle an' ya can't put the genie back in it," Spike pointed out laconically. "That'd end his fun right quick."

Xander rubbed his hand over his eyes. "No wonder the Aborigines were so happy to get this thing off their continent."

"I'll say," Faith snorted.

"Well, we can debate all we like," Giles announced, "but we need to decide what we're going to do about this. Xander has shown us what needs to be done to- to claim one of those under the spell. So I suggest that we claim one another."

"Why do we need to do that?" Dawn asked, and Buffy smiled at her sister reaching to run a hand through the girl's long brown hair. A habit of hers from years past.

"Dawnie, we're in a room where nearly everyone present has some super power or gift or... or something," she pointed out. "Don't want to let that fall into the wrong hands, huh?" Buffy explained with a wry grin. And then, reaching for Dawn's hand grasping it well, but not too tightly, she enunciated clearly. "I got you."

"Nice," Dawn smirked, then glanced at Kennedy and then Giles. "Not to sound like a killjoy, but uh, nothing. No choker or weirdness or, well, why is that?"

"Hmm," Giles seemed a bit distracted as he stared at the girls. "Oh, probably can't be those under the geas that can make the claims. Xander, since he wasn't present in the room, was able to claim Kennedy."

"Not sure I like all this talking about claiming," Kennedy muttered hotly under her breath.

"Suck it up sister," Faith snorted. "We're all in the same boat, or gonna be, as you are."

"Okay," Xander nodded, turning in his seat, "so if it has to be someone who wasn't in the room...?" he began to reach for Wilow's hand, but Buffy quickly interrupted.

"No, take Dawn," she insisted loudly, yanking her sister's hand forward. Xander, pausing for just a brief second, eying Willow, who still looked nauseous. The redhead nodded infinitesimally and Xander smiled down at her as he rose from his seat and made his way to Dawn. She gave him a slightly embarrassed smile before stretching her hand up. He took it firmly in his, noting the tremble that she seemed to be hiding from everyone else fairly well.

"I've got you Dawnmeister," he grinned, but she was shaking her head before he'd even finished. She waited a moment and then sighed.

"Nothing," she announced. Xander let her hand loose, a little reluctantly and the patted her shoulder.

"Guess the policy is one per customer," he figured and there were concurring nods around the room.

"What are we going to do?" Buffy asked, worry and tension lacing her voice.

"Whatever we have to," Angel answered her quietly.

"Um..." Andrew, who had obediently been sitting quietly, raised his hand. The group turned to look at him, not all of the stares well intentioned. "We have a house full of Slayers. Why don't we call one of them. I mean, a lot of them know Dawn and they wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

There was silence following his suggestion and then Giles rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "I hate to admit it, but he's right. If we want to get this over with quickly, then the surest way would be to just get this over with."

"So you mean we're not gonna research and fight and spend long boring hours picking through books?" Xander asked, trying to sound much peppier than he felt. "Yay!"

"No, of course we'll research," Giles sighed. "Though I don't imagine someone as prestigious as the reigning Djinn will have left many loopholes for us to slip through."

"Doubt it," Angel concurred. "They're known as master manipulators, something they've learned over the millenia from having to serve others. They know how to twist your words and slip out of agreements based on verbal technicalities. There was one time..." he trailed off as he realized that everyone was staring at him, slightly discomfited. He sheepishly shrugged one shoulder. "I uh, may have looked at some of the Wolfram & Hart files on djinns that they've worked with in the past."

"Good," Giles nodded smartly. "That may be useful. But still, Andrew's idea has... merit."

It was quickly decided then that they would call one of the older slayers, one more level headed than the younger, newer girls. Rhona, already in the house, was the candidate they chose, and Willow, by her obvioussuffering, the victim chosen. Dawn was ready for it, but Buffy protested, wanting someone not as inclined to anger as Rhona could sometimes be. Dawn knew that whomever chose her would be pretty much handpicked by her sister. It helped that the cover story Willow had quickly concocted was magic based. Not something that Dawn got to practise under the watchful eyes of pretty much everyone.

Rona came up immediately behind Xander, who had only told the tall, black girl that they had a favor to ask her. When she entered the room and saw the morose faces, she immediately sagged.

"Don't tell me we got another apocalypse already?" she half sighed, half whined. The head shaking response made her eyes widen.

"It's nothing major Rhona," Giles announced with a forced smile. "We're all just very worn out, as I'm sure you must be. Willow though," he began their cover story, "has just been having some difficulty with one of her spells, that was ongoing. We're trying to decipher if it's just with those of us closest to her, or if it's affecting everyone."

"Oh, alright," Rhona nodded, though it was plain to see that she was suspicious. "What d'ya need from me?"

"Just take my hand and repeat a few words," Willow instructed, carefully holding up her hand. Rhona moved slowly towards her.

"I'm not sure I like this," she warned before taking the witch's hand. It was a sign of her belief in Willow's strength, power and commitment to fighting the good fight that she finally did.

"Okay, all you need to say is, 'I've got you'," Willow finished informing her. Rhona took a deep breath and then quietly repeated the words. There was a breathless moment before Willow tiredly shook her head. With her head ducked for a moment, she pasted on a forced smile before turning back up to the Slayer beside her. "Okay, nothing happened. Tha-that's good. Means it's confined, like it's s-supposed to be."

"So, that mean I'm not gonna turn into a toad or somethin'?" Rhona half joked.

"No, no toads," Willow assured her. "Really, no toads, or froggies. Just you and no spell."

"Okay, well if you don't need me for anything else...?" Rhona glanced around the table, but most had already dismissed her, "I'm gonna go get some sleep."

"Yeah," Faith nodded. "All right. Hey, did anyone check in the newest set in the fold, lately? They were lookin' major freaked when we got back." Rhona was shrugging and Faith quickly rose from her seat. "I'm gonna stretch, have a smoke, check the kidlets. All that responsible crap, yeah?" She directed her words to Giles, though she was looking at Buffy. "Unless you need me for something' here."

"No, I think you should be fine Faith," Giles hesitated only a moment. "Just please, don't wander too far off."

"Think I'll join ya for that fag," Spike rose as well. "Brainstormin's not high on my list of priorities."

"Or one of your strong suits," Angel snorted quietly, to himself, though it was overheard by many. "Not like you have any."

Spike rolled his eyes as he followed the two girls out of the door. The rest of the gathered company waited a suitable amount of time, Andrew nervously picking at the food he had brought up that no one had touched, before renewing their discussion on the most recent catastrophe of their lives.


	4. Seeking A Solution

Title: For A Good Cause

Chapter Title: Seeking A Solution

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. Nor do I own any rights to other shows represented through the rest of this fictions. All shows belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: Various, up to R

Chapter Rating: PG

Genre: Crossover

Type: BtVS/ Various

Pairing: Various

Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!

Spoilers/ Time line: This is post series for both Buffy and Angel. Other shows and will be discussed within each chapter that it pertains to.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This is a response to the Twisting the Hellmouth "The Bachelor/ Bachelorette Challenge.

For A Good Cause

Chapter Four

Seeking A Solution

It was easy to make the decision to keep this entire thing, this situation they found themselves in quiet, and completely on a need to know basis. Because really, there were a hell of a lot of people out there that would definitely take advantage of the downfall, as it were, of the slayers and their allies, to make them into slaves. Angel pointed out that if they wanted to resolve this, then they had to deal with it quickly. The sooner the better. The decision was made that everyone, no matter how tired they were, needed to be working on this in some way or another.

Being the ones caught in the trap, there were no protests.

But one looming question was burning in their minds as they sat to decide which books and resources they would need and how to go about getting them.

"So why," Buffy began, playing idly with her own fingers, her face scrunched up a little, "was Rhona not able to claim Willow. She wasn't in the room when this happened."

"That's a good question," Giles nodded and everyone noticed that he didn't have an answer. Illyria made a noise, approximate to a snort. There was some murmurs of the immediate theories playing in their minds and Dawn, seeing the spark growing in the God-King's eyes, recognized an imminent tantrum, from having thrown so many herself, not all that removed from teen hood as she was.

"Um, Illyria?" she questioned hesitantly, and the softness of her voice quieted the others, glancing up. A few of them recognized the same glint in the bodies face that Dawn had. "You've been around for a long time, haven't you? I would be... interested in listening if you'd like to share anything. About the Djinn I mean."

The woman that had taken Winifred Burkle's body as a shell to pour her own form into, an act not by her choosing, but by that of her now dead Qua'hazon, nodded imperiously. "You seem wiser beyond your apparent years, Dawn Summers." It wasn't quite a compliment, the way she said it. Dawn exchanged a mystified glance with her sister, and Buffy shook her head slightly. No one had informed Illyria that Dawn's blood or perhaps Dawn herself housed the key of dimensions, a thing, as had once been described, was older than dirt. But maybe she, the God-King still retained enough of her powers to recognize such. "And though it offends me mightily that the lower beings that had only thought to lay claim to me have done so, I will cast my lot with the people of my guide," she paused for a moment, swallowing heavily, as did Spike and Angel. More so the latter.

"Thank you for that," Dawn nodded, feeling like Illyria's good will, as little of it as there was, needed a coda. She had already learned the the ancient one was extremely touchy about her status among the humans and reminded everyone of her once and longed for exalted position above them. Although Angel's gang, namely Wesley had found a way to drain much of her power, so that she couldn't destroy their hapless world, she still had knowledge and skills that were a bonus more often than a hindrance. "We welcome you help, if only to save our own skins and yours."

"Humans were ever selfish," Illyria noted with a hint of what could be called a smile. "I find that it is a condition that I share, as loathsome as that thought is."

"You could always call it self preservation," Xander sighed and Illyria nodded once. "So, your thoughts on Rhona?"

"It is obvious, is it not?" Illyria began, pinning several in her eye line with a supercilious glare. She made another snorting noise. "The girl has power of her own. Therefore, she has no need of another to solve her problems."

They were all quiet for a moment and then Giles nodded. "That's certainly a viable prohibition to this geas." He turned to Angel. "You've an excellent memory for things you've heard and seen," he began, not to compliment, but remind. "Have you-?" he began to ask, but Angel, having just finished scribbling on some scrap of paper, slid said paper across the table to Giles before tossing his pen down.

"That's what the Djinn cursed us with," he offered tiredly. Vampire though he was, he had been heavily injured and worn out in both body and spirit by the fight and the losses. "Though I'm surprised that he used a modern language. They have their own, you know."

"He wanted us to know exactly what we were in for," Buffy sighed. "Which is nice, I guess. Not having the added burden of deciphering the rantings of a madman, or mad jinn." Angel smiled gently at her, but she pretended not to notice. She was still angry with him to some degree over his behavior the past year, for many reasons and was disinclined to forgive him just yet. He understood that, but the overtures would be made and be constant until he had found forgiveness in her eyes.

"All right," Giles glanced up from the paper he had been studying. "This gives us the direction to go in. Dawn, let's go collect the books we have here in the library. I'll contact Moyer about sending me the others from my library in Bath. Kennedy, take Willow somewhere quiet and private and get the coven on the line. Don't give them all the details, just tell them that a sorcerer has laid a geas on her and she needs to know what she can do to ease her discomfort until it can be lifted. Xander," he turned to the other male that he had grown closer to over the past year, "do you think that the Aborigine council or tribe might have further information about this?"

"I doubt it," Xander spread his hands wide on the table. "If they'd known, they might have hidden it from me, eager to get rid of it. But I don't think... I think they just sensed it was bad without knowing precisely what it was. But I can always ask."

Giles nodded to give him the go ahead. He then turned to the instigator of the chain of events that had led them here. "Andrew, we do appreciate what you were trying to do, feeding us and such. Would it be possible for you to um...?"

"Of course Mr. Giles," Andrew jumped to his feet, relief shining on his face that he wasn't quite in the dog house as it were. "I have plenty more food downstairs. I'll just go get it. Gonna need fuel to research, right?"

"It would be much appreciated, thank you," Giles nodded wearily. He gestured at the table at large. "Perhaps a little assistance."

"I'll ask one of the girls downstairs," Andrew waved away the offer. "You guys are worn out. Just sit and- and save your strength for what matters." With a slightly sick grin, he whirled and then, reminding himself, slowed to calmly move to the door. He disappeared through it, as the others that had been tasked, rose to go about said tasks. But before they could get far, Faith came breezing back in, leaving the door open for Spike to follow.

"Hey Xan, you might wanna break out the tool belt," Faith announced. Xander, with a groan, let his head fall into his hands.

"What now?" he demanded, his voice muffled.

"Some of the girls got fractious," Spike informed them. "Got into a shoving match, guess they forgot their new strength. Broke what, two walls?" he turned to Faith for confirmation. She nodded.

"And busted out one of the windows in that back room down stairs," she added. "The one that looks like a mess of storage."

"Oh of course," Xander snorted contemptuously. "Just forget Xander's advice. Don't use the bathroom before a big fight. Don't let Andrew near the urn. Don't forget your strength and fight in the house." He pushed away from the table and wearily stood. "Not like good old handyman Xander has nothing better to do."

"If your task is too great mortal," Illyria snorted from her still position, perched on the edge of her seat, "could you not set the task to your Slayer?"

"Buff's too tired..." Xander began but then realized what the blue God-King meant. He turned to Kennedy, who was staring, slightly mutinous as it seemed Illyria had been about to call her a slave. But Illyria's preservation skills actually were alive and well. "Huh," Xander grunted. "There's a thought. It would take care of things quicker." He shook his head though immediately after. "Too bad there isn't the money to get the supplies. This old house is nice enough, but there's just too much that needs replacing. Sorry Giles," he offered to the older man that had procured the building.

"No offense taken," Giles sighed, removing his glasses and tossing them to the table before his place at it. He rubbed at his eye sockets this time instead of the other objects as was his wont. "Speaking of that, I do um... have a line on a bed and breakfast. Much larger, with more facilities."

"I sense a 'but' there," Buffy groaned.

"Well, as Xander was hinting," Giles continued, "there's not much money and several of the buildings would require some depth of restoration to make it habitable. Purchasing it wouldn't be a problem with some combined resources, but afterwards..."

"Yeah," Xander sighed after a moment. "It's too bad we couldn't use this spell thingy to work to our advantage. I mean, we've got the labor. We just need the money." As the group around him nodded, he turned away, musing on what he had just said. Slave-slayer labor was top notch, having seen that proof himself when Buffy had worked on one of his building sites. If it hadn't been for the Trio, or which Andrew had been one, attacking her with phantom demons, she could have turned it into an actual job. And he probably would ask Kennedy or one of the others for help. Like he'd said, it was just too bad they couldn't turn this into a way to raise funds. A fund raiser. And then, his hand on the door, he knew exactly what they could do.

"Oh oh!" he grunted, his eyes going wide as he whirled back around. "Brain idea. Big idea!"

"What?" Willow whimpered where she was rising from her seat with Dawn and Kennedy's help. "What's your idea?"

"Something huge," Xander uttered, leaning over the table, bracing his hands on the wood and looking around the room, at each and every one of the gang present. "And you all are going to ab-so-lute-ly... loath it!"


	5. Solution Found

Title: For A Good Cause

Chapter Title: Solution Found

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to BtVS. They belong to Whedon & Mutant Enemy. Nor do I own any rights to other shows represented through the rest of this fictions. All shows belong to their respective owners. No infringement is intended and this fiction is for private enjoyment only.

Rating: Various, up to R

Chapter Rating: PG

Genre: Crossover

Type: BtVS/ Various

Pairing: Various

Summary: When threatened by an old foe not their own, how else can the combined forces of the Scoobies and the Fang Gang respond? By having an auction!

Spoilers/ Time line: This is post series for both Buffy and Angel. Other shows and will be discussed within each chapter that it pertains to.

Feedback: Always welcome!

Distribution: Ask first please.

A/N: This is a response to the Twisting the Hellmouth "The Bachelor/ Bachelorette Challenge.

For A Good Cause

Chapter Five

Solution Found

As to be expected, there was the usual outcry of protest and demands at Xander's announcement. Still leaning over the table, he had waited for it and was pausing in his explanations for everyone to get it out of their systems. Once the voices began to taper off, he turned to glance over his shoulder. "Let's shut the door," he decided and quickly matched action to words before returning to his former position. "If we want to keep this quiet, like we said, then we don't want every Sally, Jane and Spot to over hear it, right?"

There was puzzlement on everyone's faces until Giles chuckled and shook his head. "You're mixing up your children's reading instuction syllabi Xander," he informed the young man who straightened up and shrugged.

"Well, I know better than to-!" he began but then waved the thought away. "Never mind. Okay, I want you all to listen to me before you freak out. It's just an idea and I don't have all the details worked out. But it seems to me like we have to do something, a lot of somethings actually. And this idea, even if it seems bad or... or..." his face scrunched up as he tried to search for the appropriate word that fit.

"I'm hearing a lot of words," Buffy grumbled, "but no idea yet. What is it Xander?"

"Okay," Xander nodded once and reached up to straighten the patch over his missing eye. It seemed as if he had developed some nervous twitches himself. "First of all, we have this problem with the genie thing. Second, we need to find some money, mass amounts of money to buy and repair a place that's going to be big enough to house the number of Slayers and Watchers that will train and work here. We also need to have some sort of income to keep it running. Because, let's face it Buff, my job, Willow's student loans and the few jobs you tried were just barely enough to run that little house in Sunnydale." He said it as kindly as possible, but the point was still there.

Yet Buffy still nodded tiredly in acknowledgment. "And even if all the Slayers and Watchers that would be here, were able to hold down at least part time jobs, it just gets too problematic and it's not enough for the needs we'll have," she added. She remembered well enough, the projected budget that Willow and Giles had created. Both from then and the ideas for now.

"Okay, so this idea," Xander rubbed his hands together and pulled the closest chair to him, seating himself once more. "It occurs to me that we have to raise the funds. And we've all seen those shows-!"

"I am not joining a reality show to win cash and or prizes!" Kennedy interrupted hotly. "I'd much rather ask Daddy for the money than do that kind of crap."

"Like you're so sure you'd win," Dawn snorted from her seat further down as Kennedy's eyes flashed.

"Not the type of show I was talking about," Xander interrupted loudly, to quell the imminent argument. The others, he noted, were waiting semi patiently for him to continue. "I'm talking about fund raisers. You know, those auction things? Like on public access? But instead of auctioning off a bunch of fancy junk that we don't have, we'd be auctioning off... ourselves."

And then the flurry of disgust and protests broke out again. This time it took Giles banging his fisted hand down upon the table to quiet them all. He removed his glasses, letting them dangle from his other hand as he regarded Xander across the table. "Xander, while I admire your enthusiasm to find a solution, I feel I should remind you that we want to keep this problem private and within this immediate circle. To propose a public slave auction... well it's not only demeaning, but unfeasible. The funds required to even-!"

"But it's not!" Xander protested, stilling the other man's retort and the rumblings from the others as well. "Look," he offered glancing around the table at all of them. "I'm not saying we announce what happened to us. I'm saying we have a charity fund raiser to get the school up and running. They have these things all the time, or, well, at least I think they do. The kind where rich people bid on like, younger members of their select little groups to do odd jobs around the house. Manual labor at their houses or clubs or in their neighborhoods. Or has Caddyshack lied to me?" He directed that to Kennedy, as the most affluently placed member of the group, since she came from money. She was nodding slowly.

"They do that sort of stuff at my dad's country club," she allowed. "And at my boarding school. And my mom's sorority alumni did it once."

"See!" Xander pointed out triumphantly. "No one has to say a word about being under a spell. We just offer up our services as laborers to the community at large. They pay, we perform, voila, spell is broken. Right?"

"I'm not sure it's so simple Xander," Giles sighed. "While the idea has merit, the money it would cost to put on a gala affair of that magnitude-!"

"Who says it needs to be huge?" Dawn interrupted. The idea Xander had presented them with was intriguing.

"There's a reason the saying 'it takes money to make money'' exists Dawnie," Buffy supplied. "It's better than my idea to rob a Swiss Bank, at least," she chuckled, though her closest friends knew she was only partially joking about that. "If we want the big bucks, we'd have to attract the attention of the big buckaroos."

"Yes, but charity," Dawn retorted excitedly. "There's all sorts of places that we could apply to for help, isn't there. I mean, we are starting a school. That's got to count for something," she added a little helplessly.

"That's true," Willow groaned, "but it would take a lot of time and paperwork, phone calls... and there's no guarantees..."

Xander listened intently, his brain seeming to go into overdrive as it rarely did. This problem, broken down, taking the magic spell out of the equation, it seemed a reparable solution. "Okay, hang on," he broke in to still the murmurs, staring down at the table as his brainstorming continued. "Wills, you said that you were working on a combination spell to put on our buildings, right? The one to keep out people that meant us harm."

"Well, it's going to do more than that, but yeah," she nodded slowly. "Xander, I don't-!"

"Can you... does it matter how big the place is?" he wondered aloud and she shook her head in the negative. "Okay, so that would take care of that," he announced and then turned his face back to Giles. "We know that there are all sorts of people out there willing to support charities. We just need to find them. People that really need our help. Not just an afternoon of hauling garbage out of the garage."

"That would be ideal," Giles snorted softly, seeming to follow the younger man's thoughts. There was a small knock that kept the others from wondering aloud what the two were thinking of and then Andrew was poking his head in.

"Snacks," he announced quietly and when there were accepting nods, he opened the door wide to hold it open for the several girls he had recruited to help. Slayers, all of them, they carried in the goodies that Andrew had prepared. "There's food and... oh, here's Sandra with the drinks. There's coffee, hot water and tea and also some juice. I- oh, forgot the cups, sorry, be right back!" He waited until Sandra was completely past him before dashing back down the stairs.

The girls set the trays down and Sandra stepped back. "Andrew gave us a bunch to eat downstairs, so we're gonna... yeah," there was an oddness and a trembling in her voice as her eyes as well as the other girl's, darted around the room. Landing mostly on Angel and his friends before taking off again, like they really didn't want to get caught and earn one of Illyria's already lamented and marked of viciousness, tongue lashings. After belated thanks that chased the girls out of the room, the door was almost closed, but opened again to reveal Andrew carrying two large bags. One of Styrofoam cups and the other plastic drinking glasses. He held them up, giving the others a wry grin.

"Can't break these if they drop, huh?" he explained with a slightly sick smile. He set them on the table and then resumed the chair he had been in earlier. "So what did I miss?"

"Just a lot of... talk," Dawn muttered as she reached for a roll. There were utensils also on the new platters, along with condiments. Andrew, to give him his due had really thought this through the second time around. Faith quickly walked Andrew through Xander's idea as the young man nodded, most traces of bumbling gone from his eyes as he seemed to dissect the idea.

"I think," Buffy announced suddenly, perking up a little, "that your idea is good Xander." She glanced around at the others. "That last one. I mean," she clarified. "Wouldn't that just screw up the Djinn's mojo if we were to perform like... public service type of things, instead of letting people's selfishness dictate what we do?"

"Probably," Willow agreed, pausing from nibbling on the cracker that she had chosen. "It was intended as a punishment, slavery," she mused. "It would actually be really good for our karma to turn it back around on him."

"The bigger the good deed, the better," Dawn chuckled and then her eyes went wide as she turned to stare at Angel. Just as he began to fidget under her gaze, she then turned to Giles.

"What is it Dawn?" the older man asked calmly right before she half squealed and then waved her hands erratically.

"Wolfram and Hart!" she announced as the others all winced. She shook her head quickly. "And- and, the Watcher's Council. And Angel's investigation team. They were all a group, focused on helping the good guys, or the bad, too. But they can't be the only ones. That's who we go to."

"Go to for what?" Spike demanded, slightly miffed as he'd searched the platters, to find that Andrew had not included blood for him, or even for Angel. He seemed to content himself with some of the chips that had been provided, turning his nose up at the dip.

"People that really need help," Dawn explained, waving her hand to Angel. "Wasn't that what you guys were about? Working there? Helping the helpless?"

"We were," Angel nodded, "but I don't think that was the scope they're talking about here," he gestured back and forth between Giles and Xander.

"But that's okay," Dawn went on excitedly. "We can't be the only ones. There have to be people, like all over the world, fighting the good fight. Not just Slayers."

"Well, yes, I imagine there are," Giles nodded. "But any record of it, or them, that the Watcher's Council had, would have been lost in the- the explosion," he reminded her.

"I know," Dawn nodded. "But just because the building is gone, doesn't mean the mission is. People should know that."

There was agreement from most of those present in the room. It was just the idea of going about trying to accomplish it at the scope Dawn and Xander were imagining it at, that was daunting. But slowly, ideas of where to start came pouring out. And the excitement grew. And then Angel, who had been sitting back, quietly contemplating, leaned froward in his seat.

"Lorne," was all he said. It was enough to quiet the group for a moment before Spike groaned and then chuckled.

"That's brilliant," the bleached blond Vampire announced. "And surprising," he grinned wolfishly. "Because as I recall, the demon don't want nothin' to do with you no more."

"I know that Spike," Angel growled back tiredly. "But I don't think he would deny the rest of us the help. And it would give him his heart's desire, without the strings this time."

"What are they talking about?" Buffy demanded, turning to her best friend. Willow gently patted her friend's hand.

"Lorne," she announced. "He's that empath demon I told you about. The one that reads people when they sing- oh!" She suddenly sat up a little as she seemed to realize what Angel had been getting at. "He could be the entertainment. And he could read people so that we could really help the people that needed it!"

"Exactly," Angel nodded, relief flashing across his face that it wasn't just the other Vampire that he despised that was understanding him. "Although he'd probably enjoy being emcee for the whole proceedings. And having him appear as an encore engagement from his Vegas days might bring in people." Willow was nodding slowly at his pronouncements. "He's uh, got green skin and red horns," he explained for the others that had not met the empath demon that had helped through his years in Los Angeles.

With that explanation to placate the others, talk began to grow again before Giles decided to intervene once more. "As all well and good as this sounds," he barked impatiently, "need I remind you all that research needs to be done before anything else. We need to know exactly what this curse entails for all of us. We don't have time to go running about all willy nilly planning balls and entertainment and God knows what else. We're in danger here, of people using us for their own purposes, their own greed. Now I know that I have often-!"

"Giles!" surprisingly, it was Dawn that called him out. She glared up at him. "Would you just shut up. No one said we weren't gonna research."

Giles, his jaw working tensely as he stared down at the girl that he had somewhatly come to regard as a daughter, well, he would have expected this from Buffy, Willow or even the Vampires. But never had she put herself forward like that, to him. But as expected, Buffy leaned into their sphere.

"I think, Giles, that what Dawn is trying to say, is that we have several things we can do here," she intervened verbally. Trying to quell the brewing stress that they all felt. "But the thing is, I think," and here she glanced around at the others, "that even if we find a solution for this, with the research, I think I still wanna do this. Xander's right, we need to find the money somewhere. And just because we might not be compelled by a spell to help out, doesn't mean that we can't. Right?"

"Exactly," Willow beamed at her friend. "I mean, if we can figure out the logistics to help someone that really needs it, and the logistics of putting on an event..." she trailed off slightly and shrugged one shoulder. "It just sounds like a good idea."

"There's nothing in the books that says we can't do both, right? I mean, of course we'll search," Xander added. "Nobody's going to force you to do anything you don't want Giles."

"Well that's a relief," Giles sighed and then leaned back in his seat and regarded the rest of the group. At last he seemed to come to a decision. "All right. If this is what you want. You do realize that it will mean just as much work as the research. And I must insist that come first."

"It will," Willow nodded, some color seeming to return to her face. "It's just, it's always good to have a plan B. We've never really... done that before, have we?" she glanced around at the others. There were a few chuckles. "Well look at that, we're evolving."

"Yay on us," Faith chuckled weakly. "So how we gonna do this?"

And there started again, the plans to divide the teams to their strengths. Willow and Giles obviously along with Dawn would work on researching. Kennedy, by stint of her knowledge of charities through her family affiliations would start scouting on professional set ups that might help them. Angel and Spike would work to track down Lorne to see if they could secure his help, as well as reaching out to others that might need the kind of help that they could provide.

And Xander, well as usual, he got stuck with playtime with his hammer. But some times, that was just the way he liked it.


End file.
